Society daily 22.09.2010

• Commonly prescribed atypical antipsychotic drugs to treat nausea and vomiting, also used to treat schizophrenia, increase the risk of potentially deadly blood clots by a third, reports the Daily Telegraph.

• Two social workers involved in the care of Baby Peter escaped the sack after a "deeply flawed" disciplinary process, an employment tribunal heard, reports the BBC.

On my radar...

• The health minister, Paul Burstow, who apparently told Liberal Democrat conference delegates yesterday not to trust the Guardian's coverage of health policy (thanks @SallyGainsbury). On the seemingly unevidenced basis that:

"It's a spreader of misinformation and lies".

• Social work blogger Fighting Monsters, meanwhile, is not happy about Paul Burstow's "grating" comments at the conference on the slow take-up of individual budgets in adult services:

"I wish Mr Burstow would meet and talk with people who actually DO the job to understand the difficulties, rather than meeting and talking to people who manage people who do the job or people who write the policies or people who audit accounts."

• The "other" Manchester United - the social enterprise FC United of Manchester - which has launched a pioneering community share issue to raise £1.5m to build a new ground. Details on how to invest here.

• Blogger David Floyd's reflections on volunteering:

"One difficulty with current debates is that the large percentage of commentators who rightly doubt whether volunteering is either (a) a fundamental duty of a decent citizen or (b) an effective substitute for funded public services often end up pressing home their point by disparaging volunteers for such heinous crimes as being relatively well off or believing in God."

• Dermot Finch, who looks at the story behind Nick Clegg's announcement that councils will get new borrowing powers to finance local infrastructure projects. See, told you he was good.

• Blogger and NHS HR specialist Karen Wise, who fulminates against health service bureaucracy - such as the process that requires her colleague to spend:

"many hours preparing monitoring reports of monitoring reports that show how robustly professional registration is monitored".

• The New York Times, on doctors who are adding cookery courses to the medical training curriculum (thanks @HSJEditor)

• Blogger Gaby Hinsliff, on reform of child benefit:

"We'll see what the Treasury does next month. But if it ducks reform, were I a coalition of children's charities I'd be tempted to exploit that liberal guilt and politely invite wealthier parents (starting, perhaps, with the Clegg-Gonzalezes?) to donate what they might have been taxed to a fund supporting poorer families through the recession. How terribly big society."

• The Labour party leadership contenders, who reveal their views on voluntarism to Third Sector. None are against it.

• I must read: a new report on how well charities measure the social impact of what they do, by New Philanthropy Capital (which is partnering the Guardian in our Xmas charity appeal this year).

"NPC's research found that whilst nearly all the charities we analysed were good at describing what they did - their outputs - less than half communicated clearly what changes they achieved in people's lives - their outcomes. Charities in general are missing an opportunity: to communicate to potential supporters what they need and want to know."

Highlights from today's SocietyGuardian supplement

Communities left high and dry as housing renewal schemes are shelved

Interview: Grant Shapps, the housing minister

Mental health scheme makes a positive impact on the prison population

Peter Hetherington: Lib Dem unrest brewing in town halls

Craig Dearden-Phillips: How to solve the third sector pensions headache

All today's SocietyGuardian stories

Guardian and Observer Christmas Appeal 2010: help us decide which youth charities to support

This year our Christmas appeal will support charities working with vulnerable teenagers and young adults. That bit we've decided on. What we don't know yet is which ones to support. And that's where you come in. There are around 8,000 UK charities out there that operate in this area. We are looking for 10 projects that do innovative, effective work with young people at risk aged 13-24. So if you work for a charity, and it fits the bill, please apply (you can find the link to the pdf download on this page). If you know of a charity that you think we ought to support, then encourage it to apply or nominate it on this blog, and we'll contact it on your behalf. Applications close on 8 October, the appeal will kick off in December.

Events

Driving Efficiencies in Public Sector ICT, 30 September, London: a one-day conference for senior IT professionals to re-examine the way they work, cut costs and deliver vital efficiency savings.

Public Sector Online, 4 October, London: a one-day conference examining how public sector professionals can engage with their audience to deliver services more effectively and strategically online.